Upcoming Events

Past Events

FOCUS ON BEING & SELF COMPASSIONA Half-day Mindfulness Retreat& Afternoon Meet-upFebruary 9, 2019 In this morning, we experienced the ease of moving into awareness and compassion practice with 35 participants. School folks traveled as far as Utica to spend time in community with each other. Our afternoon session focused on learning about a 12-week elective that Natalie Freeburn from Saline High School created to implement with her students that introduces them to mindfulness and forms the basis for her course on stress management. Natalie generously shared the resources she used to develop this elective and the success that students report from engaging in these practices. A live recording of Natalie's presentation can be viewed on our facebook page.

MC4ME dedicated our retreat this morning to honor the victims of the massacre in Pittsburgh and shooting at Kroger’s in Louisville, and the passing of a beloved teacher in Ann Arbor, Martha Kimball who pioneered mindfulness meditation at the University of Michigan and in her own private practice almost 20 years ago. Along with 40 participants, we eased into the oasis of silence we found in ourselves through guided practice. We all felt gratitude to spend this time in community with each other. Our afternoon session focused on learning about an intensive one-month mindfulness –based curriculum that Anne Ward, a third grade classroom teacher in Ann Arbor, experienced. She graciously shared details of the Breathe for Change curriculum and how she is applying it in her classroom and larger school. We are so very lucky to have committed teachers, like Anne, who are growing and sharing mindfulness practices with their students.

Share and Learn Ways to Use Mindfulness with StudentsAugust 23, 2018

This morning brought together a wide array of 35 educators and health professionals from across the State committed to supporting mindfulness practices in children, parents and staff. Four mini-presentations from a k-8 principal, Spanish middle school teacher, guidance counselor and mindfulness teacher described successes in weaving mindfulness throughout a school and/or school district. We were inspired by seeing participants actively engaging in sharing stories, and information on ways they are implementing mindfulness in Michigan schools and higher education institutions. A groundswell of skilled teachers in mindfulness is bubbling up in our Michigan communities!

​ ​The Five Literacies of a

MindfulEducation

with Daniel Rechtschaffen

March 16 & 17, 2018

​ ​​

​In this 1.5 day training workshop, participants explored how to teach physical, mental, emotional, social, and global literacy to students. They learned playful activities and ways to integrate these mindful lessons into their work with students. Didactic information was interspersed with practices throughout the 1.5 days. Daniel facilitated meaningful conversation on system change and race which left the whole community deeply moved and inspired to make a difference in the lives of children.

Restoring Balance: Beginning Again A Half-Day Retreat &​ Community Meet-Up November 11, 2017

On this ​beautiful fall day, together with 40 participants, we gathered for a morning of guided mindfulness practice. Half of us stayed for an afternoon of enlightening conversation and wonderful presentation. Donna Russotto, our guest educator, demonstrated how to engage teachers in understanding mindfulness and addressing student needs empathically using an approach that explained the basic functions of the brain.

​​In this two-day workshop, 23 participants engaged in a morning of restorative practices followed by a day-and-a-half of learning and practicing specific mindfulness activities for use with elementary and middle school students. This workshop will be followed up with two hours of virtual group-based coaching sessions.

We were delighted to see our 2017 February retreat filled to capacity. We offered a range of mindfulness, gratitude and compassion practices to cultivate stillness and self-care. One participant who attended all three of our retreats remarked, "It was the best one yet."

Mindful Games Workshop For Professionals and Talk For Parents:October 27 - 29, 2016We were delighted to host Susan Kaiser Greenland where we learned about true and tested mindfulness practices to help reduce stress in our children and cultivate the essential life skills of attention (A), emotional balance (B) and compassion (C). The new "ABC"s! For more information about Susan, ﻿﻿click ﻿here. ﻿

Mindfulness Based Treatment for YouthStruggling with Substance AbuseApril 15-17, 2016A diverse group of 19 professionals who work with adolescents attended the 3-day certification training with Sam Himelstein. It was a superb immersion into the 12-week program he developed. For more about Sam Himelstein's work click here.

Focus on Being:​A half-daymindfulness retreatJanuary 23, 2016We had a lovely gathering to reflect and practice mindful meditation and movement with over 80 people present. We took the time to nourish our own practice among supportive community.

Kristin Neff, Ph.D.Self-Compassion and Emotional ResilienceOctober 23-24, 2015Over 200 participants attended this workshop on ways to treat ourselves kindly, ike we would a good friend we care about. Rather than continually judging and criticizing ourselves, self-compassion involves generating kindness toward ourselves as imperfect human beings. We learned tools for responding in a kind, compassionate way whenever we are experiencing painful emotions. For more information about Kristin Neff's work click here.

Stateside withCynthia Canty talks about Mindfulness in Education ​​Our own board member and co-founder, Dr. Rita Benn, was interviewe​d recently on a program that aired on October 12, 2015. If you missed it, you can hear it now: click here for the link. Rita, and 3rd and 4th grade teacher, Carl Clark, spoke about the impact of bringing mindfulness into the classroom. Congratulations to Rita and Carl for spreading the word across the state.

Community Book Discussion at Crazy WisdomSelf-compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristin Neff, Ph.D. August 21, 2015 at Crazy Wisdom Tea Room, Ann Arbor, MIA community discussion of Kristin Neff's engaging book about how to heal self-criticism and destructive emotional patterns through practices of self-compassion. The feelings of security, self-worth and resilience that come from self-compassion lead to a healthier, happier and more effective approach to life than riding the ups and downs when self-esteem hinges on meeting certain standards.

Rediscover the Present Moment RetreatNovember 15, 2014 ﻿﻿

​Over 50 people gathered at our restorative retreat to “Re-Discover the Present Moment” at Rackham Assembly Hall. We enjoyed a variety of mindfulness activities include meditation, yoga, walking meditation, and loving-kindness. Rita Benn, PhD gave a presentation summarizing the latest published findings related to mindfulness in school communities. What a wonderful way to refresh ourselves and connect with each other.

Room to Breathe Film Showing,April 24, 2014

In April we held our first public event, a film showing of the documentary, "Room to Breathe" in Rackham Amphitheatre on the University of Michigan campus. The film is a moving story of the transformation of struggling students in a San Francisco middle school when mindfulness practice is introduced. It shows how even the most difficult classrooms can be positively affected with patience, teaching skill and partnership with school staff. It was heartening to see the groundswell of community support for this work with almost 200 people in attendance. We were moved and inspired by the film and had a wonderful panel discussion about bringing mindfulness into the classroom.

Trisha Broderick, Ph.D.​Learning to BREATHE WorkshopMarch 21 and 22, 2015This outstanding 1.5 day training on the Learning to BREATHE curriculum was attended by 59 participants. We learned about research supporting the importance of social emotional learning for adolescents and teens and were introduced to a powerful program for teaching adolescents and teens these skills through mindfulness of the body, thoughts, emotions and behaviors.

​MC4ME Community GatheringJune 17, 2014Thank you to the thirty-five community members who met with the board of MC4ME on June 17 to continue the conversation about bringing mindfulness into education in Michigan. The evening began with a simple gratitude practice and was followed by examples of exercises from the curriculum of Mindful Schools and the SMART-in-Education. A discussion followed about the vision and possibilities for the organization, and how it can best serve the community’s needs. Participants expressed interest in receiving teacher training, in mindfulness courses geared toward teens, tips on funds and resources to support this training, such as grants and grant writing workshops, and in creating a support network for those teaching mindfulness practices in schools.